Steven Universe Movie One Shots
by RenegadeForLife
Summary: Just a collection of one shots related to the Steven Universe Movie
1. Unanswered Questions

As Spinel gazed up at the Diamonds she found herself haunted by the abundance of questions raging through her mind. Should she really go through with this? Could she really learn to love again? If she did would the Diamonds love her back? Would they eventually grow bored of her? Or maybe they would grow to hate her after hearing what she tried to do. After everything that happened, did she even deserve to be lo...

"Hey Spinel!" Steven interrupted her morbid thoughts. "Before you leave I have a question that I really need to get off my chest. It's been bothering me since I found out about your past and I feel like if I don't ask now it'll keep me up at night."

"Did you want to know something more about the time Pink and I spent together?" Spinel asked curiously. There really wasn't much more for her to tell. Did he just want to hear more about Pink in general? He seemed to know more about her than she did though.

"No actually" Steven replied. "I wouldn't want to push you to talk about her so soon. I actually just wanted to ask you about the gadgets you brought with you to Earth. There were only a few hours between when my message to the universe got sent out and when you got to Earth? I can't understand how you managed to get your hands on that kind of weaponry that fast? Did you raid a military base on the way here or something?"

"That's what's bothering you?" Spinel asked with a small laugh. "I just found that stuff in the Garden's shed."

"It's an important question." Steven asserted. "I helped the Diamonds dismantle most of their military. If those kinds of weapons are easily available somewhere then that could have major repercussions. Also why would anyone store those kinds of things in a shed? That's insane"

"It's not a literal shed." Spinel replied, still somewhat confused about the purpose of this conversation. "It's an underground storage area for the Garden."

"That's not what I meant. It doesn't matter what they were stored in. Why would a garden need a Rejuvinator?"

"Oh I see why you're confused now." Spinel replied, finally understanding. "That's actually kind of a funny story. Pink was always fascinated by plants. When she learnt that some organic species cultivated them she wanted to try it out for herself. Unfortunately none of the scientists on Homeworld shared her interest. Still, they couldn't just ignore a diamond's requests so whenever pink asked for gardening supplies the the Weapons Division would try really hard to give her what she wanted. I don't think they really grasped the concept of keeping organic life alive on purpose though. A lot of the time they would just send her a weapon shaped like the gardening tool she asked for."

"OK. So the Rejuvinator was just meant to be used as a regular scythe. Wait..." Steven paused in confusion. "Wouldn't it just phase through the plants without cutting them?"

"Yes." Spinel said with a bit of a forced smile on her face. "That was nothing compared to the shovel though..."

"What did the shovel do?" Steven asked.

"Don't ask. Pink said never to speak of it again. Anyway, after we rebuilt..."

"You had to rebuild!?"

"We had an infestation of these weird rainbow colored bugs. Pink asked for some kind of pesticide and they made her that huge injector. I know I'm one to talk but I think those guys got a little overenthusiastic because it was the first time Pink asked them for anything approaching an actual weapon. Also, I guess in hindsight we shouldn't have expected them to understand the difference between 'pest' and 'organic life'. Anyway Pink decided the bugs were kind of cute and went to show them off to the other Diamonds. We kind of just left the injector in storage and forgot all about it after that. So, do you have anymore questions?"

"Just one..." Steven replied with a strange look on his face. "Those bugs wouldn't happen to have been from the Kyanite colony would they?"

"Yes actually." Spinel said in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess..." Steven replied with a strange look on his face. He was glad to have distracted Spinel from the internal crisis she'd clearly been having, but he was having a really hard time not asking about the shovel...


	2. Everything Changes

Steven stared glumly at the warp pad. Just a few hours ago he had been so excited. They had finally done it. They had liberated the entire universe. They were finally done.

The only thing left had been for Steven to make a speech. A message of peace and love to the entire universe. He was excited for it. But then he'd started to get a little nervous. He started to wonder if he'd screw something up right as things were finally perfect. So he asked Garnet for a favor. To borrow her clairvoyance once again and ensure for himself that the future was as bright as he thought it was.

It was great at first The speech would've went off without a hitch. The Diamonds would've been a little clingier than he would've liked but that was fine. He'd just have to make sure he visited them every once in a while. With the warp pads factored in they were practically neighbors. All in all everything would've been perfect. Then he looked a little farther.

He saw Spinel. A new villain. A new battle. A new misunderstanding. One more victim of his mother's callousness. Should he even be surprised at this point? This was the story of his life.

But it was supposed to be over...

I'll always have work to do.

In the end she had gone off with the diamonds because she was too guilty to stay on earth. Was that supposed to be a happily ever after? It felt like a failure to him.

Suddenly he heard a noise behind him.

"Garnet is that you?" he said turning.

"No actually." Bismuth replied. "Hope you're not disappointed. Garnet told us all the whole story. She said that if any of us could help you through this it would be me."

"That makes sense." Steven replied. "I guess you'd be the one who could best relate to her. Seeing as mom did almost the same thing to you."

"Yeah" Bismuth replied. "Although I wasn't really conscious for my solitude. It still seems kind of crazy that a gem would wait 6 thousand years just because someone told her to. She must've cared a lot for Rose... Are you sure you want to handle this one alone"

"I'm sure" Steven said somberly. " Pink was her only friend. What bothered her the most was that Pink moved on. That she forgot about her and lived a full life with completely new friends. I can still remember the look in her eye when she realized I had no idea who she was. If that message never came she would've just waited there forever."

"The message made her realize how little she mattered to her. Technically she's still just waiting.,," Bismuth said cautiously. "You never sent out the message so there's not much chance of her suddenly attacking earth. You don't have to rush this. Maybe you should take a few days to calm down and think about what you're going to say. She's already waited 6000 years. Her waiting a few more days isn't going to..."

"Happen!" Steven interrupted. "It's not going to happen. I'm OK with taking a few minutes to figure out what to say but I'm not going to just ignore her for days just because I need time to get my life together. I am not my mom!"

"I know" Bismuth responded calmly. "Believe me, I know. Are you worried that she'll think you are."

"No... It's kind of funny actually. She came to earth to take her anger out on a bunch of strangers. Out of all the gems I've met who knew my mother she's probably the first one to not even consider the idea that I was just an extension of her. Even I used to believe that for a little while. It's actually a little refreshing if I'm being honest." Steven sighed. "It feels like every time I think I've come to terms with who my mom was and what she's done, I find out she's done something even worse. I guess I'm preaching to the choir on that though, right?"

"You know..." Bismuth started. "I've had a lot of time now to think about how I feel about Rose. About what she did and why she did it. And about what makes you better than her. I stopped hating her a long time ago, if I ever really hated her in the first place. I think I've finally started to understand her."

"Really" Steven asked bitterly. "Because I think I'm drawing a blank here..."

"Rose was a hero. She was compassionate. She thought all life was precious. She saw the beauty in things that she was taught were inferior or disgusting. But that doesn't mean she was always like that... You really are a lot like her Steven and I think that's something you should be proud of. But unlike you, Rose ran from her problems. She ran from home world. She hid behind lies for thousands of years. And as far as I know she never really looked back. That's what makes you better than her Steven. You face your problems head on. You never hid from the truth. You told the gems about me even though you knew it would make them sad because you thought they deserved to know. And then you brought me back. You did more than just face the truth of what happened between me and Rose. You told me the whole truth about Pink and then convinced me to change. What happened still bothers me even now. Rose inspired us all and I loved her for that. Sometimes I wonder if she ever loved me back. But even so I understand why she did what she did, and I still believe she was a great person while I knew her. So I don't hate Rose. I pity her, because I know that if she were still around she would've become an even better person just from having known you."

"Thank you, Bismuth..." Steven answered after a long pause. "Sometimes I feel like I've just been going through the motions for the past couple of years. Having the same conversations over and over again with various gems on various planets. I was so relieved to be done with it all, that I started to forget how worthwhile it truly is. No matter how dark things get I'll always be able to make a change. And no matter how bright the future may seem I'll always have more work to do. And I don't think I want it any other way."

Steven stepped onto the warp pad, his glum look replaced by a determined gaze.

"So you're heading off now?" Bismuth asked. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with?"

"No. But there is one more really important thing I need to tell you." Steven said with a serious look.

"What is it?" Bismuth asked nervously.

As the warp pad began to shine Steven clasped his hands together in a familiar heart shape. "I love you. Bye." Light enveloped Steven as he teleported away.

Bismuth stared at the now empty warp pad in confusion for a second before responding with a chuckle. "Ha, right back at you kid..."

* * *

As he soared through the stream of light towards the Garden Steven thought about what Bismuth had said. She was wrong about one thing. For the past couple of years he had been avoiding the truth. Specifically he had been trying to avoid thinking about his mother as much as possible. It was hard to do that when he was with the Diamonds. They loved talking about the fun times they shared with Pink. Maybe that was why he'd been having such a hard time connecting with them. That wouldn't be the case any longer. And with that thought Steven began to sing.

**Let's go in the garden**  
**You'll find something waiting**  
**Right there where you left it**  
**Lying upside down**

**When you finally find it**  
**You'll see how it's faded**  
**The underside is lighter**  
**When you turn it around**

**Everything stays**  
**Right where you left it**  
**Everything stays**  
**But it still changes**

**Ever so slightly**  
**Daily and nightly**  
**In little ways**  
**When everything stays**

As Steven appeared on the Garden's warp pad the first thing he noticed was a pair of eyes staring at him. He saw the pain and loneliness in her gaze. But most of all he saw hope. Hope that he would have to dash. He sighed as he slowly walked towards her.

**Everything stays**  
**Right where you left it**  
**Everything stays**  
**But it still changes**

**And ever so slightly**  
**Daily and nightly**  
**I will be there**  
**Helping them change**

AN: I only learnt about this recently but apparently both this song and Spinel's backstory are partially inspired by a story from Rebecca Sugar's childhood. She left her favorite stuffed animal in the garden and forgot about it for half a year. By the time she found it the top half had been heavily faded because of the sunlight. That's why the song fits so well with Spinel despite being written 4 years ago.


	3. Common Ground

"Friendship isn't going to be easy for me." Spinel said somberly "I'm gonna have to work at it. You make me wanna try but...I've already messed up bad with you. I wish I could just start from scratch with somebody."

"Spinel, I..." Steven started. He knew he had to be really careful with what he said here. The last time she acted like this he had accidentally caused a major misunderstanding. He didn't want to say anything insensitive or rude.

"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic?" Lapis interrupted from out of nowhere. "I don't see the big deal here."

"What do you mean you don't see the big deal!?" Spinel exclaimed. "I just tried to destroy the earth. Your home. How can you treat that like it's nothing."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Lapis replied blasély. "You were left alone for 5000 years and were understandably upset."

"It was 6000 actually..."

"It's not a competition!" Lapis replied indignantly, to Spinel's increasing confusion. "Anyway it's not like you succeeded. All you've really done is give Steven another excuse to kiss things."

"I also beat up his friends really badly" Spinel argued. "I toyed with them right in front of him and then poofed them all at once. That had to have been really traumatic. How could they forgive me for that?"

"I wouldn't say she toyed with us..." Garnet said lightly.

"Because that would make you feel bad, right?" Lapis remarked with a smirk before turning back to Spinel. "It's not like this is the first time they've gotten a collective butt-kicking from a noncombatant gem who spent the last several millennia completely motionless. I'm sure they'll get over it. If anything they should thank you for the workout."

"But Steven was just trying to help me and all I did was lash out at him." Spinel continued. "I almost killed him several times."

"When we first met, Steven freed me from my imprisonment and even healed my cracked gem. My response was to immediately drop him out of orbit along with his planet's entire ocean. And for the record if the earth can survive that then I'm sure your so called bio-poison will be easy to deal with. Also the next thing I did was lead a couple of homeworld invaders back to the Earth. Not that they were very good invaders..."

"I heard that..." Peridot interrupted.

"Anyway," Lapis ignored her. "Even after all that Steven still pretty much begged me to be his friend and stay on earth. And it's not just me. Bismuth tried to kill Steven once for almost the same reason as you. So do you have any other unforgivable crimes to bring up...?"

"Well... my poison hurt Greg's arm really bad..." Spinel said weakly.

"Steven healed that in like a second." Lapis replied indignantly. "Also at this point I'm starting to think you're greatest crime is just ripping me off! Everything is fine now so just stop moping. If you say you're sorry then we believe you and if you want to change then we'll be there for you. It's as simple as that."

"Despite her obviously poor understanding of planetary invasion logistics, I concur with Lapis" Peridot added. "The Chrystal Gems welcomed me with open arms despite my many horrific crimes. As the most dangerous of their former enemies I would be remiss if I didn't do the same for you."

"Hold on..." Lapis interrupted. "What do you mean 'most dangerous'. You barely did anything to the earth other than bringing Jasper here."

"Did we never tell you about the Cluster?" Peridot asked. "Injectors and waves are cute and all but nothing destroys a planet quite like ripping it apart from the inside."

"No I know about the Cluster," Lapis replied. "But you had nothing to do with it's creation. You were just sent here to check on it's progress. It would still have emerged without you. If anything you saved the Earth by telling the Gems about it ahead of time."

"Irrelevant!" Peridot stated. "I was in charge of the Cluster so I get to take credi... I mean blame for what it would theoretically have done. That makes me the most dangerous."

"Well I invented the breaking point," Bismuth suddenly interjected. "And I'm the only one of us with more than a few days of actual fighting experience so I'd say that makes me the most dangerous."

"Bismuth we've talked about this" Peridot replied. "The breaking point was a garbage weapon. It's weight, clunky design, and heavy recoil far outweighed any benefits it might have had. It would be an especially poor weapon in a fight where your side is vastly outnumbered, which was true for most of your battles back in the day. Even if you shattered or poofed one enemy you'd be open to a counterattack from all other directions while it reloaded."

"You literally couldn't beat a child with it" Lapis finished as Bismuth gave them both an annoyed look. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. Spinel, if we can all live here peacefully after everything we've done then so can you. What do you say?"

"Well," Spinel started. "If you're sure you want me here then I'd like to try and make up for what I've done. I guess I'll start with cleaning up the debris from my injector."

Spinel walked off toward the broken injector and Peridot and Bismuth followed her.

"So, now that that's settled, how do you feel?" Lapis asked Steven.

"Great" Steven said happily. "Earlier I thought that I never wanted anything to change, but now I know that whatever surprises come our way, we're always going to be able to make the future brighter. Thanks for helping Spinel like that Lapis. I really wasn't sure what to say to her."

"No Prob, Bob" Lapis replied with a knowing smile. "Hopefully it'll be a while before our next big surprise though. I don't know if the earth can handle any more gem drama right now..."

"Knock, knock, Steven" the two heard as they looked up at the diamonds' ship.

"...I could almost feel that happening as the words came out of my mouth" Lapis sighed.


	4. Rough Draft

"Pearl, I don't need you to do my laundry for me." Greg exclaimed as he attempted to pull his clothes from Pearl's grip. "How do you even know what laundry is? Don't gems all have magical built-in clothing?"

"I am sorry my Um Greg Universe," Pearl said as she finally let go of the clothing. "What would you like me to do instead?"

"I'd like for you to remember who you are," Greg said with a sigh as he sat down on the beach. "But if that didn't work the first three times I asked then I'd be shocked if it worked now. I guess I'd settle for having you just call me Greg and stop doing everything I say..."

"Of course my Um Greg Universe," Pearl replied without a trace of snark. "Anything for you."

Greg paused for a moment before letting out a slightly bitter chuckle. "Ha, guess I walked right into that one. If I didn't know any better then I'd say a bit of your charming sense of humor was leaking out there."

"Humor, my Um Greg Universe?" Pearl asked in confusion.

"Nevermind" Greg replied with another sigh. He stared off into the distance for a little while, trying to think of anything that might jog Pearl's memory. He was actually rather surprised when Pearl interrupted him of her own accord.

"You seem unhappy, my Um Greg Universe." Pearl said sadly. "Is something wrong? Would you like for me to sing for you?"

"You know I've been meaning to ask about that" Greg replied, attempting to change the subject. "How exactly do you know about music? Peridot didn't even know what the word meant when she got here." A part of him was hoping that this meant that Pearl had retained some residual memories of her life on Earth. That would increase the chances of them being able to cure her. Not that he had any doubts that they would.

"Although recreation is rarely, if ever, seen in the colonies, the nobles of Homeworld do occasionally indulge themselves in various forms of entertainment. In fact, that Spinel we encountered earlier is a rare form of gem specifically designed to amuse high nobles."

"That's interesting. Do you like music, Pearl?" Greg asked slowly.

"I would enjoy participating any activity that would make you happy, my Um Greg Universe" Pearl replied happily. "Pearls often sing in order to lift their masters' spirits."

"That wasn't really the answer I was hoping for Pearl, but I appreciate the thought. I'll be all right" Greg said. He tried to keep his tone upbeat. There was no point in stressing Pearl out by acting sad. Especially since Steven would probably have this whole thing sorted out by the end of the day. He wondered if Pearl would remember these events after she was cured. He hoped it wouldn't make things awkward between them once again. Despite knowing each other for decades he and Pearl had only really become close friends about 2 years ago. Before that he was constantly walking on eggshells around her, or trying to prove himself to her like they were still competing over...

"My Um Greg Universe!" Pearl interrupted his thoughts. "Are you certain everything is alright? You still seem distressed."

Greg opened his mouth to reassure her, but then closed it and thought for a moment. Was it really right to just lie to her? Amethyst barely seemed capable of understanding English while Ruby and Sapphire were borderline hostile. There hadn't been much point in trying to explain the situation to any of them. But Pearl was different. She may not remember who she was but she's still lucid. She deserved to know what was going on.

"Pearl," Greg started cautiously. "Do you understand what happened to you today?"

"No, my Um Greg Universe" Pearl replied with worry. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No Pearl," Greg responded quickly. "You did nothing wrong. But there was an... accident." He wasn't really sure how to phrase it. "You lost your memories Pearl. That's why I've been kind of down. I'm not really used to seeing you act like this. Not that that's your fault! Again you did nothing wrong. I just miss the old you. Don't worry though. We're going to do whatever we have to to get your memories back."

"I see," Pearl responded slowly. "So that's why you've been displeased. It's because I've forgotten how to properly serve you."

"What?" Greg said in alarm. "No! You're not supposed to serve me. I'm not your master. Hell you didn't even like me when we first met."

"I can't even imagine that..." Pearl said. Her voice was becoming more and more frantic. "I could never imagine that. Not even if you ask me to my Um Greg Universe. I'm your pearl. If you're not my master then who is?"

For a second Greg was tempted to reply with Rose. It was the easy answer. Pearl had just mentioned this morning how she never really left Rose's side until she was gone. But something about summing up their relationship that way to a version of Pearl who had no idea who Rose was felt fundamentally wrong. It would be an insult to both Pearl and Rose's memory. "You don't have a master!" Greg said finally.

"Then... then what am I for?" Pearl said softly. Her voice was no longer frantic but it carried a level of somber desperation that left Greg struggling to reply. This had been a mistake. All he'd accomplished was making Pearl miserable. He should have just waited for Steven or one of the other gems to fix things. He could probably still take it all back. He could play it off as a cruel joke and Pearl would believe him. She probably wouldn't even resent him for it.

'No!' Greg thought to himself. 'I'm not going to backtrack here. I spent years ignoring the problems between us and it solved nothing. I have to believe that having an honest conversation is the best way to solve this. We just have to talk to each other.'

"I don't think you have to be 'for' anything Pearl," Greg started. "You're one of the most amazing people I know. And I want you to understand that even if you don't belong to anyone that doesn't change the fact that you are very important to a lot of people, myself included. Even if we didn't get along at first we're really good friends now. Heck, I don't know if I've ever said it out loud but you and the other gems are pretty much family to me. That's why it bothers me that you suddenly think of yourself as my servant. You're your own person. Nobody has the right to order you around."

Pearl stared at him. She looked more confused than sad now, as if she couldn't wrap her head around the idea of being anything other than a servant.

Greg couldn't think of anything else he could say to help Pearl understand this. So he decided to fall back on what he knew best. He reached into his van, pulled out his guitar, and began to sing.

**Nothing is holding you back now**  
**No one can push you around**  
**What do you wanna do?**  
**You're the master of you**  
**And isn't the thought enough to lift you off of the ground?**

**You could be independent forever**  
**Independent forever, you can fly**  
**Independent forever**  
**Independent forever**  
**Independent forever, if you try**

Pearl continued to stare in confusion as she realized what had just happened. "Did you just sing to me... to make me feel happy?" she asked softly.

"Yeah I guess I did," Greg replied sheepishly. "Did it work? I know I'm not as good at improv singing as Steven and you gems are. It usually takes me weeks to write a good song. Granted that was more like a couple of verses than a whole song. It was nice though. I'll have to work on it more later."

Pearl was feeling more and more confused. If the idea of a Pearl without a master was strange then the idea of a master who went out of their way to make a Pearl happy was insane. Was this what he meant when he said that Pearl was family to him. The thought clicked in her brain like a piece of an unfinished puzzle. For a second she could almost see the full picture.

"Maybe next time we could sing together," Pearl said on impulse.

"I'd like that" Greg replied with a smile. He looked happier than she could remember seeing him. She found herself smiling brightly back in response.

'As long as you exist I will serve you,' Pearl thought to herself. The thought was rebellious in a strange way. Her Um Greg Universe had made it clear that he wanted her to be independent. He clearly thought she'd be happier that way for some reason. While she loved that her master cared about her happiness, she couldn't accept that opinion. As far as she could tell independence was just another word for being alone. There was no way that she could gain happiness or fulfillment from that. She could only hope that her Um Greg Universe would forgive her disobedience.

"You know there's actually a concert planned for tonight," Greg interrupted her thoughts. "I was planning to cancel it but now I'm thinking that it might be a good way to let you and Amethyst enjoy yourselves while Steven works on curing Garnet. Once she's better she should know exactly what to do for you two. Hey wait, where is Amethyst...?"


End file.
